I Look into Your Eyes and See my Heart
by PLL22
Summary: "Ezra always knew what to say. It was an uncommon characteristic-this tendency to make everything better, read her every thought-his gift to her. He knew her better than she knew herself". Some Ezria fluff in dialogue and some journal entries. Post-finale. One-shot.


**A/N: **Some Ezria fluff. Oh I do love this OTP. One-shot (but more stories to come!). This takes place post-finale when Ezria is married but Aria finds out about her father's affair much later. Italics reflect journal entries. Hope you enjoy! First story on my revamped account! Hope you enjoy! 3

**I Look into Your Eyes and I See my Heart**

He liked looking at her. Each moment produced something new, something incredibly luminous; her hair glinting against the light of the room, the sparkle in her brown eyes, the faint movement of ivory flesh. She was still as a rock, her breathing sound. Deep dark brown eyes… the eyes that seemed to know everything about him, endowed with this over-reaching capacity, with feeling that emerges from knowing someone so intimately. Aria was his wife and the only person who had his heart. They were married five years, five years of trust and tranquility, joy and sharing… that passed like a blink of an eye. Quick and almost magical.

"Why so thoughtful?" She tickled him gently, her skin resting on his. It was their ritual; nightly conversation that made them reach higher layers of intimacy. He didn't quite know when it first started or what inspired them to initiate into this territory of knowledge and affection, but he never wanted to grow out of it. Each time he felt closer to her.

"Just a few things on my mind". He set aside _The Great Gatsby _and cupped her chin in his hands. " You look beautiful tonight".

There was something about her that imbued him with peace, hope and strength-some inner quality that made everything in his world feel right. Ezra cherished it deeply.

Aria smiled warmly, a usual effect his sincerity provoked. She moved closer to where he sat and embraced his warmth, like a bird finding and clinging to its home. Simple moments in life, _of _life, permeated with subtle rejuvenation of human emotion. Love is the oldest story: it existed for ages, unquestioned. Every moment, no matter how small or insignificant, is a part of that story, a building block of life, poignant and resonating.

Aria took his hand, still smiling gently, her fingertips caressing his skin. She loved watching him read, the book sprawled across his knees, his head bent slightly, his hazel eyes illuminating thought. In those moments, it was Ezra against the world, one human trying to navigate its intricate fabric. He reminded her much of her father-same composure, same resolve and almost a kind of bravery that produced this love of the written word and an even stronger love of unraveling it. Aria took to reading because of her father, always watching him immersed in a book, deep in thought, resolute on knowing what the words combined to tell. He was her hero, but our younger years had a way of escaping us.

" Impermanence", Ezra said out loud, bringing her closer and kissing the tip of her head. "It is a scary but unquestionable aspect of life".

"Why do people change?" Aria asked quietly, almost in a murmur, her memories pulling her into herself, building that wall of impenetrable fear that once before held her captive. Fear of loss; the depth of loss and loss of belonging.

_All things in life are transitory. __She wrote this line at the age of fifteen, young but already aware of its implications._

"They grow older; their relationship to the world changes. Remember yourself as a child? Everything seemed easy, everything made sense. You felt like you could do anything; there was no restraint, no boundaries. And you know the most wonderful thing? You woke up every morning filled with hope and excitement. It never left you until you grew up and started to question everything".

Ezra looked into her deep brown eyes as he answered her promptly. He tended to think and speak like a poet; Aria loved this about him. She was drawn to his words. They filled her with peace. The most surprising quality of her marriage was this free discussion, this journey of language that had a healing and refining effect, making invisible wounds come to life and eradicating them almost instantly through love.

He stroked her arm, listening intently, finding a way to take some of her pain. She answered in turn, her speech free and flowing:

"I used to look up to my Dad, he was my hero. Now things changed...I feel like I don't know him anymore, he is a different person. I don't know how that makes me feel. I can`t seem to let go of the sadness his departure gave me. It has been years…shouldn`t I be able to accept it and move forward? "

"We make mistakes, Aria. No one can do the right thing constantly. It's an unfortunate but very real human quality. I believe we need to take the good with the bad. It's all about finding balance. Remember, the ability to forgive is the suit of the strong. Forgive him and yourself for taking longer to come to terms with his abandonment."

Ezra always knew what to say. It was an uncommon characteristic-this tendency to make everything better, read her every thought-his gift to her. He knew her better than she knew herself.

"Thank you", she whispered

A relationship is like an island with two people placed at the centre, a space of intimacy and belonging. Ezra leaned in to kiss her, forgetting about everything else.

After their first separation, a little light inside him burned out. He missed her every move, the way her eyes sparkled, her smile. Ezra took to reading her old journal entries, exploring again the strength of her heart, the richness of her inner world. It made him feel her presence, the sense of tender closeness and understanding- secretive, only theirs.

_All things in life are transitory. Every breath, every step you take is marked by its passing quality. All is gained and lost in a rapid swirl of life._

She summarized human condition so well; loss was at its centre, its inescapable truth. She meant these lines to reflect how she felt about her father's affair: this loss of stability and a new sense of impermanence. He felt this loss acutely as he read through her narrative, realizing his immense need of _her_ and her love. Ezra always believed that love required a great undertaking-this unflinching dependence on another that grows stronger each time you get closer, penetrating into every layer of skin. Love starts small: intersection of gazes, implicit longing, uncommon joy and a sensation of warmth within. He knew he loved her from the first moment he saw her and he knew he would love her until the end. It was one of his greatest missions in life.

_Love is a hidden violin that starts playing once you lay your eyes on someone destined for you. I've never been in love yet but I can clearly imagine how I would feel once I was. I would dance through life. I would feel ever so light and amazed. I would never be the same again._

A warm smile embraced Ezra's face as he got to know the woman he loved, once again. Writing was her special art, her talent. It was so sincere and full of life. Ezra felt like he was gazing into Aria's own heart. He could read each line again and again and the effect would never be lost on him. Her journal was a blessing generously given to him.

_Ezra is the love of my life, the man of my dreams, my soulmate. Now I know what it is really like to love and I thank him for it every day. My world is forever changed, I am forever changed. Every time I look into his deep hazel eyes, I see my heart, my loving, beating heart that pulsates with warmth. I see myself, all that I am, through his eyes._

He saw her heart in every line, every word. Its warmth seeped through each page. Ezra has never loved Aria more than in these quiet moments, engaged in her writing, reading her heart. These moments made every problem they had disappear, dissipate through the air. He never wanted to fight again, say another hasty word, walk away from her silently. Her still words, spoken to him from these pages, gave him such peace and an immense desire to spend all the days of his life next to her. Love requires a great undertaking and an even greater need.

They fell asleep shortly after their nightly discussion; Aria's hair on his chest, Ezra's hand on her forearm., their hearts and minds in peace. Five years. To one, it could seem like a milestone but to them, it was a short interval of happiness that produced more longing. There was still so much to know and learn even after everything they already knew, like a beloved novel that opens new secrets after multiple readings. Theirs was a quiet life, filled with bouts of creativity and understanding, a life of two who lived as one. Ezra wrote short stories and Aria collected her feelings, ideas and thoughts in an autobiography which she would later pass on to their children. Theirs was a quiet life but it radiated within.

Ezra put down her journal and let his heart rest. Nothing could conquer our love, he repeated Aria's words. When he was alone with her journal, everything in the world seemed possible. There were no boundaries, no limits to their potential, what they could set out to achieve. He decided to take a plunge, follow his heart and not look back. He decided to take his life into his own hands.

"You are stronger than you can imagine", Ezra told her another night. Aria was nestled against his chest, her eyes deep in thought. "I've always noticed it. Every time I look at you, into your eyes, I see your heart. "

Aria closed her eyes for a moment, her head falling to his shoulder. "I'm not so sure, Ezra. Sometimes I feel afraid."

"What of?"

"Impermanence", she answered him quietly. She had grown comfortable with it-revealing herself to him-each time it got easier. "I'm afraid things could change at any instant. I'm afraid of losing _this_, you."

Ezra put her hand on his knee and opened her palm, his index finger drawing a line in the centre. "You'll never lose me, Aria. I'd never leave you. You've given me so much joy, so much peace. Whenever you're around I feel invincible".

Aria smiled warmly, stroking the tip of his finger. "You're such a romantic".

"Well, I've learned from the best". He turned her towards him, locking his lips with hers.

As Fitzgerald writes in _Great Gatsby _: "If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay... You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock."

In the mist of life, Aria was Ezra's green light, his hope amidst the unknown. Her love guided him and gave him strength – a rainbow rising above the sky. Five years. It was only the beginning.

_I knew we would work it out. I am not sure about many things, I have my fears. But I know one thing: nothing could conquer our love. We might fight, turn away from each other but it would always bring us back together. Sometimes I feel there aren't any other people in the world who know each other like we do. It is the greatest, most amazing realization. When I look into his eyes, I see my heart. Always and forever._


End file.
